


Blow A Kiss, Fire A Gun

by Toothlessturtle21



Series: Zangst Collection (Ninjago) [7]
Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Gun Violence, Hospitalization, Hospitals, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mortality, Polyamory, Self-Esteem Issues, zangst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-14
Updated: 2020-04-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:21:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23645317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Toothlessturtle21/pseuds/Toothlessturtle21
Summary: After a run-in with some armed gang members, Zane is worried for the mortality of his boyfriends as waits in their hospital room, leaving Nya to calm his nerves.
Relationships: Cole/Kai/Jay Walker/Zane, Kai/Zane (Ninjago)
Series: Zangst Collection (Ninjago) [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1468231
Comments: 5
Kudos: 99





	Blow A Kiss, Fire A Gun

Zane sat in the sterile hospital room, his gaze slowly cycling between his three boyfriends. He couldn't help but focus on the bandages wrapped around their various limbs, from Jay's ribs to Kai's thigh to Cole's stomach. He gripped the book he had been trying to read tighter, trying not to think about his own wound, which was crudely stitched up under his shirt.

A run in with a few criminals had turned sour only a few hours before, resulting in the entire team receiving gunshot wounds, some more severe than others. Zane had called emergency services in tears, trying to stop the bleeding of his partners as much as he could with the fabric of his gi. When they had been carted off to the hospital to remove the bullets, Zane had sat in Cole's ambulance, gingerly holding the Earth Ninja's hand in his.

But now, he distanced himself from them, just in case any interaction upset their vitals and alarmed the medical staff. Granted, they were all out like a light due to the IVs in their arms, but he still sat in the back with a long forgotten book grasped in his trembling fingers.

A gentle knock at the door alerted him to another's presence, and he sat up straight, mentally preparing himself. Nya poked her head in, holding a bag of something in her hand.

"Hey Zane," She greeted, sitting down next to him, and he nodded in response. "I brought some food for you. Sensei says you should try and eat."

He shrugged noncommittally, not really hungry at all.

"How are you doing?"

Zane sighed lightly, putting the book down on the seat next to him.

"About as well as I can be, Nya."

"I don't think I like that response," Her mouth quirked, and she glanced over his slightly awkward posture as she set the food down on the floor. "Were you hit too?"

"Not badly," His fingers twitched at the spark of pain that ran up his spine as he tried to sit up straighter.

"Can I see?" She tried to keep her voice calm, but she was mentally cursing both herself and Zane: him for not telling her, and herself for not realizing that he wouldn't.

"If I say no?" He asked, keeping his gaze averted.

"Try me," Nya's tone grew a little less gentle, and Zane swallowed harshly as he lifted his shirt enough to show the stitching, and Nya involuntarily hissed at the gash. "You tried to fix this yourself?"

"It will do," Zane stiffened. "It only looks insufficient because I couldn't see the wound when I was sewing. I'm fine, Nya."

"I'm telling Lloyd to bring some basic supplies when he visits later. You are _not_ just going to walk around with that."

Zane didn't retort, dropping the fabric and looking towards his sleeping partners.

When the Samurai looked over again, she saw Zane's eyes shut, mouth twitching ever so slightly. Although his countenance looked calm, she could see the turmoil beneath.

"Hey," She soothed, reaching over to place a gentle hand on the Ice Ninja's shoulder. "They're going to be okay. I'm worried too, especially since nothing about you guys' uniforms are bulletproof."

He didn't speak a word, but the way his arm relaxed under her touch told Nya that her hand was welcome. After a long while of listening to the sounds of the trio's breathing, he spoke.

"Nya, the average human only requires a 40% blood loss to die."

She looked over, taken aback. "Wow, thanks for that, I guess. Where'd that come from?"

Zane stared at the ground, blue eyes intense. "Cole lost 25% of his. He was only 15% away from dying, Nya. How are you so calm about all of this?"

"Zane, you have to stop fixating on that. Yes, they all were hurt and gunshot wounds are pretty serious, but it's pointless to think about hypotheticals."

"But this won't be the last time I'm scared for them. They're just so... fragile."

"I don't know about you, Zane, but I've seen them take some pretty hefty hits. Your line of work is pretty dangerous. Being shot is extreme, yeah, but you can't pretend like this wasn't bound to happen at some point. The only reason you're not hospitalized too is that normal medical attention can't help."

"Exactly my point, Nya."

"I- I beg your pardon?"

"I'm a robot, Nya. Jay may call me a nindroid, and the others may avoid mentioning it when possible, but I am mechanical," He gnawed on his lip for a split second. "I am not flesh and blood. They are. In the blink of an eye, I could lose them and I wouldn't be able to do anything about it."

"Oh, Zane," She lost all of her fight, realizing while the usually calm Ice Ninja was so upset.

"And it scares me," He made sure to keep his voice quiet, as not to wake his sleeping boyfriends. "I am terrified by the prospect of losing any of them, much less all of them at once."

"I feel the same way about you idiots every day," Nya wrapped an affectionate arm around the android, who leaned into it gratefully. "Kai may be my blood brother, but you boys are my brothers too. Just between us, Zane, I care you for guys more than I let on."

"Thank you, Nya," Zane's leg bounced slightly with nerves. "I do appreciate the gesture, really. I care for you and Lloyd as my own siblings as well, but at the moment I can't feel anything but concern."

"Yeah, I get it, you're a worried mess. Just try and focus on the fact that you have them today, okay? Don't think about the what-ifs, just appreciate their existence now."

"I'll try. Thank you, Nya."

"No problem, buddy. No problem."

* * *

Nya had left to help Lloyd gather materials to help fix the gash in Zane's side, only because there was no removing the android from the room that his boyfriends resided in.

When they went up to the room, the duo was about to barge in until they saw through the window what was happening between the boys inside. Cole and Jay were still completely out, but they weren't what caught the two's attention. Zane was speaking to a very sleepy Kai, the Fire Ninja clearly having only just shaken the medicine pulling him under.

A pale hand was resting on tanned skin, trimmed fingernails barely skimming the hairs on Kai's arm with the gentle grip. Kai was fighting to stay conscious, eyes squinty as he tried to pay attention to his boyfriend, who relinquished the boy's arm as he stood, planting a gentle kiss on Kai's forehead before allowing him to return to his slumber. Zane then looked up, and saw the two watching through the door, which turned his cheeks a pale pink. They opened the door, and Zane eyed the bag in Lloyd's hand suspiciously.

"Are we really going to do this here?"

"Unless you want to leave, then yes."

Zane looked between Kai, who had just fallen into slumber once again, and the pair staring him down.

"Fine," He said curtly, shedding his shirt, and Lloyd hissed at the gash.

"Zane, man, what gives? We coulda fixed you up while the doctors were stitching their wounds."

"It's fine, Lloyd, just fix me if you're going to, please."

"Alright, alright," The Green Ninja passed off the tools to Nya in surrender, letting the technician take the lead as she brought out a soldering iron. She had Zane lay down on the chairs, and she knelt beside him, working intently.

"Let's see here..." She mumbled to herself, and Lloyd watched as Zane was poked and prodded with numerous different tools, and he couldn't tell if Zane's face was cast in worry or pain as the wound was finally stitched up. After she was finished, she stood, and Zane sat up, eyes focused on the boys still sound asleep.

"Alright, it's a little crude, but it's better than yours before. You're lucky too much dust didn't collect there," She pat Zane on the shoulder, and he gave her a faint smile that indicated that he recognized her statement as a joke.

Lloyd went to ask what was wrong, but Nya shook her head minutely, enough so he knew to shut up. He sat on the seat next to Zane with an exhale.

"When do you think they're all going to wake up?" He asked nervously, and Zane caught a glimpse of the young boy still residing in the Green Ninja's heart.

"I don't know," The Ice Ninja rested a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "But I hope that it will be sooner rather than later."

"Yeah," Lloyd nodded, giving a nervous sigh, abandoning all shame as he dropped his head on Zane's shoulder, listening to the faint hum of his power source. Zane just pulled him closer, allowing him to use him a pillow as the two fell into a slightly uncomfortable sleep on the hospital chairs, Nya secretly taking a picture of them to show to Sensei before leaving once more.

* * *

When the two woke up from their sleep, it was by a nurse waking them up. Not on purpose, but Kai's vitals had alerted her to the fact that it was time to stop pulling the Fire Ninja under. When he had woken up fully and had been given some water, she left, leaving the three alone. Lloyd ran over first, hugging him tightly.

"Kai!" He whisper yelled. "You can't just go around getting shot! It scares me."

"I'll try," He slurred, and then his gaze settled on his boyfriend, who was still standing a few feet away. "Come on, Frosty, I know you want to."

So Zane complied.

Lloyd left to go get Nya and Sensei while Zane curled in the hospital bed beside his lover, making sure to stay on the opposite side as his damaged leg. Kai soothed him gently, even as Zane squeezed him tighter.

"Hey, honey, calm down. Tell me what's wrong. You've seen me injured before, what's gotten you so worked up this time?"

"You've never gotten hit with a gunshot before! I have every right to be worried for you."

"True," Kai sat and thought for a moment, his drug-addled brain still trying to function properly. "I guess let's start with this. Why does a gunshot specifically bother you more?"

"We aren't equipped with guns, Kai," Zane stated, pressing against the warmth of his lover's body. "This is a weapon you cannot match."

"Hey, hey, what do you mean? Why aren't you including yourself there?"

"Kai, I was shot too. And as you can see, I am not hospitalized."

"Zane, you can't just-"

"Of course I can, this is your life we're talking about. The truth is, I am mechanical and can withstand a bullet, as long as it doesn't hit anything too fatal. Humans are more fragile. Even a bullet to non-essential organ can take your life quite easily."

"Well, yeah, but-"

"So it makes sense that I am worried about you getting shot, and you didn't even get the worst of the wounds. Cole was over halfway to _dying_ of blood loss, and Jay was shot in the ribs. I have every right to be extremely worried about you."

Kai stayed silent for a moment, gazing over at their unresponsive partners.

"I'm worried for them too, but you said you got shot too, right?"

"Yes, but-"

"So how's your wound doing?"

"It's stitched up."

"Great, but does it hurt?"

"Well, yes, of course."

"Where is it?"

"My left side."

Kai thought for a moment, then narrowed his eyes.

"You mean the side that's pressed up against me right now?"

Zane didn't answer, squeezing his eyes shut as he pressed his head into Kai's shoulder, hoping to hide from the gaze of his boyfriend.

"Hey, honey, it's ok, you can look up."

And so Zane did, meeting brown eyes that were equally resigned and pained.

"You gotta stop downplaying your wounds. Just because ours may hurt for longer doesn't mean they hurt more."

"But..." Zane began, but trailed off, wrapping Kai's fingers in his own. The Fire Ninja didn't say anything more, recognizing that his point had made it across. He eased himself away from Zane's side, but wrapped his arms around his torso, making up for the lost contact. The others would walk in to find the two sound asleep together, both injured ninja reluctant to let each other go.


End file.
